The complexity and interconnectedness of Earth’s systems become evident through these visualizations created by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio. Each entry in this collection is designed to encourage student questioning and conversation...(View More) – especially related to the cross-cutting topics commonly found in middle and high school curricula (cause and effect; systems and system models; scale, proportion and quantity; patterns; similarities and differences; stability and change; energy and matter). Video interviews with mission scientists and a NASA visualizer as well as links to sample K-12 lessons are included.(View Less)

The four lessons in this unit build toward a student understanding of each component of the energy budget formula - and how the contribution of each component changes due to location and time of year. In order, the four lessons consist of: deriving...(View More) the formula for Earth’s energy budget, analyzing data from NASA’s CERES instrument, learning to code using the RStudio program, and using RStudio to explore and evaluate the energy budgets of specific locations and seasons. The unit includes a pre/post test; each lesson follows the 5E model and contains worksheets with answer keys.(View Less)

The student-produced introductory video presents two common misconceptions related to the ozone hole. The accompanying lesson uses the 5E and the Frayer model to develop student understanding of ozone and ozone holes. Links to additional videos and...(View More) activities allow students to further investigate this phenomenon.(View Less)

This 13-week online course focuses on the global climate system, which includes Earth's oceans, atmosphere and land along with human interactions with each. Offered twice a year, the course is directed towards middle school teachers, but is open to...(View More) all K-12 teachers. This site provides information about the course- including a detailed description and the course requirements- as well as a link to the application.(View Less)

This video explains albedo - the concept that the brightness of the Earth system (atmosphere, ocean, and land surfaces) determines how much incoming solar energy is immediately reflected back to space. Reflected shortwave energy and land albedo...(View More) products demonstrate the seasonal and geographic variability of this critical climate process. ClimateBits videos are designed for Science On a Sphere (SOS) and also available on YouTube. Links are provided to more information for this topic from the main ClimateBits website (see related & supplemental links).(View Less)

Invisible Mars is a Science on a Sphere (SOS) and planetarium program that examines the story of water on Mars. NASA’s MAVEN mission (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) is providing new information about the atmosphere of Mars and its...(View More) probable role in the disappearance of Martian water. The module also provides information on past, present, and future Mars missions, In addition to the downloadable script and materials to run the program, the site also provides background information, docent/facilitator tips, and image sets comparing water features on Earth and Mars.(View Less)

NASA uses satellite instruments to track Earth's subsystems - the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and cryosphere - to learn how they interact and how they affect climate. This 5-minute video introduces the tools NASA uses to gather...(View More) data about those subsystems, then explains how analysis and visualization of that data can be used to create mathematical models for predicting weather and climate. NASA eClips™ are short, relevant educational video segments. The Real World series of NASA eClips™ connects classroom mathematics to 21st century careers and innovations and are designed to encourage an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem-solving.(View Less)

After reading the accompanying background information, students create an ice core using a tennis ball container and an assortment of dyes and craft supplies. Students measure the thickness and determine the age of each layer. As an extension...(View More) activity, students write a story about their ice core.(View Less)

Using a plastic tray filled with sand to represent a planetary surface, learners simulate the effects of wind, water, and impacts. They will compare the surface effects they create with actual images of planetary surfaces- and determine the causes...(View More) of the features in the images. This activity was designed to be used in a library program.(View Less)